Inbetween
by Candid Ishida
Summary: Matt and Tai's first year of high school is about to begin and puberty has hit hard, but only to one! Can their love survive when compared to one, the other is a little boy? :Yaoi: Taito
1. One

School began in a week, and Taichi Yagami's boyfriend, Yamato Ishida had been away all summer. He stood on the platform of the train station, excitedly waiting for Matt to arrive. This year of school was extra special though, because the two of them were finally starting high school. They had both passed entrance exams with flying colors, thanks to many excruciatingly long study sessions with Izzy. 

Matt had spent another summer at his grandmother's house, and since she had no computer and long distance phone calls were so expensive, he and Tai had written each other nearly every day. In Matt's final letter before leaving, he had told Tai he was desperate to see him again, and couldn't wait for their first kiss upon his return. 

Tai kicked at a soda can lying on the concrete for what seemed like forever, until the train Matt and TK were riding began to pull up. Tai stood on tiptoes to see over the crowd and saw TK emerge from one of the passenger cars... followed by some blonde man that looked extraordinarily like Matt. When they got closer, however, much to Tai's surprise, he realized the man by TK's side _was_ Matt, only not quite the same as he had remembered! 

While Tai stood and gawked, the brothers waved to him and pushed through the crowd of people in his direction. Before he knew what was going on, he was being lifted up off the ground and kissed all over his face. 

"You have no idea how much I've missed you!" Matt said, setting him back down. Tai swallowed and looked up at the face that had been even with his own three months earlier, but now towered over him by at least 5 inches. 

"You've...grown," Tai said. 

Matt blushed and brushed his hair behind his ear. His face was longer and more angular, his blue eyes more slanted and almond shaped, and his shoulders and chest were much wider than they had been. Tai could also make out very faint razor stubble on his pale cheeks. 

"I sort of had a growth spurt over the summer..." He said. 

"He looks a lot like dad, doesn't he?" TK asked, apparently quite proud of his more manly looking big brother. 

"A lot prettier if you ask me," Tai said, still looking him over. 

"I'll be sure to tell him that," Matt said, laughing softly. He kissed Tai on the forehead and hugged him tightly. Instead of being held in the skinny arms of his boyfriend, though, he felt like he was being crushed in a bear hug by his father. 

"Matt, you're squashing me!" He squeaked. 

"Oops!" Matt let go immediately and rubbed Tai's arms gently. "Sorry about that." 

"It's ok..." Tai mumbled. 

During the bus ride home, TK had seen some friends who were beginning seventh grade with him that year, and left Matt and Tai alone in the back seat. Matt had one arm around the brunette and was playing with his hair, when the smaller boy sighed for what had to have been the fifth time since they sat down. 

"Is something wrong?" He asked, placing a finger under Tai's chin and tipping his head up. Two chocolate eyes looked up at him sadly. 

"Nothing..." 

"You don't seem very happy to see me," Matt said, suddenly worried that he had been away too long and his boyfriend had secretly found someone else over the summer. 

"I am!" Tai said quickly. "I just..." 

"Are you upset just because I've grown?" The blonde asked. 

"I just feel funny..." He said. "When you left you were completely different." 

"It's not like I can help it," Matt said, narrowing his eyes a bit. "You're not thinking of breaking up with me just because of that, are you?" 

"No!" Tai cried, causing a few people to turn around and look at them. "I'd never break up with you..." 

"I hope not over something stupid like me getting taller, at least," Matt grumbled. Tai winced, knowing he was about to slip into one of his psycho-bitch moods and needed to be cheered up right away. He pursed his lips and thought quickly. 

"Yami, look over there!" He said, pointing out the window at nothing in particular. 

"What?" Matt turned to see what was so exciting but practically screamed a few seconds later and swung his head around back at Tai. The brown eyed boy grinned mischievously, having just poked Matt several times directly below his bellybutton, in his most ticklish spot. 

"You little brat!" Matt said, as his lips curled into a huge smile. He placed his hands on Tai's shoulders and they came together for a kiss. 

"I guess he hasn't changed that much..." Tai thought happily. 

Later, when night had fallen, the two sat together on Matt's bed, heavily involved with each other. Mr. Ishida would not be home until Monday, and as the day was Friday, the two had the entire weekend to themselves. 

Matt had one arm around Tai, running his fingers through the bushy brown hair as they kissed. His shirt had been tossed aside some time ago, and Tai rubbed his now broad chest, exploring every inch with his fingers. The blonde's other hand ran up and down Tai's back, stopping every so often to give his bottom a gentle squeeze. He let his lips trail away from the brunette's mouth and nibbled gently on his ear, knowing that was the easiest way to drive Tai absolutely crazy. He moaned loudly feeling his boyfriend's tongue touching his earlobe and let his hand wander lower on the taller boy's body. He slid his fingers slowly under the waistband of Matt's underwear, until... 

"AUGH!" Tai yanked his hand away and tumbled off the bed. 

"Tai!" Matt slid across the mattress and onto the floor to help him up. "What happened, are you ok?" 

"That wasn't there before..." He said. 

"What are you talking about?" 

"That... Just... All that down there!" He stuttered, motioning towards Matt's crotch. 

"Uh..." The blonde raised his eyebrows and wondered if Tai was going to elaborate. 

"All that... hair," he mumbled. 

"Are you talking about my pubic hair?" He asked, making a face that appeared to be half amused and half puzzled. 

"Yeah..." 

"Tai... That was there before I went away this summer, it's not like you don't have any." 

"Not that much!" The brunette cried. He collapsed onto the bed and buried his face in Matt's pillow. 

"Tai-chan..." Matt lied down next to him and rubbed his shoulders gently. "What are you freaking out over?" 

"You're so different..." He said, mostly into the pillow, but loudly enough that Matt could understand. 

"I'm still the same person. Don't worry about it, you'll catch up soon." He played with the other boy's hair as he talked and tickled the back of his ears. 

"I feel so weird next to you now," Tai whined, rolling onto his side and facing Matt. 

Matt kissed the tip of his nose and pulled him into a hug, being careful not to squeeze too hard this time. Tai snuggled against his body and suddenly felt very small and insignificant. 

"Taichi I still love you, that's never going to change. I don't care if you don't grow a single inch." 

"I care..." 

"Why?" He asked, looking down into Tai's huge brown eyes, which he thought were absolutely beautiful. 

"What if you meet somebody tall and handsome and I get left behind...? I feel like I'm not good enough anymore." 

"This is only temporary," Matt reassured. "Before you know it, you'll probably be taller than I am and I'll be sitting in your lap." 

Tai imagined Matt trying to sit in his lap the way they were now and giggled slightly. Matt smiled, his boyfriend always looked best with a grin on his face. 

"Are you done worrying now?" He asked. 

Tai nodded, "I've never been very good at worrying." 

They kissed again, more deeply than before. 

"I'll never leave you," Matt said. "It doesn't matter what you look like." 

"I love you, Yami," Tai whispered. 

"I love you too," he whispered back, pulling Tai as close to him as possible. They laid silently in each others arms until both had fallen asleep. 

The next day, the two went to the mall together for lunch and to catch a movie. As they approached the food court, a group of boys that Tai did not know called out and waved to Matt. They must have been from another school, he had never seen them before. 

"Hey Ishida!" One said when they were at the table. 

"Matt, I thought your little brother had blonde hair," another said, looking at Tai. His brown eyes opened wider and was about to utter a few choice words and punch the idiot in the face, but Matt had already said, 

"He's my boyfriend," and wrapped his arm around Tai's shoulder. 

"Are you a pedophile or something, Ishida?" one said, and all four of them laughed. 

"Stop being assholes, you guys," Matt said. The laughter died down slowly and Tai could feel his face practically on fire from blushing. "Tai, these guys have their own band in Shibuya, we've played together before." 

"Right..." He mumbled. Matt and the other four band members talked for a few minutes until they had to go, and Tai held back from hitting them over the head with chairs the entire time. He felt smaller than ever once they had gone, he had shrunk down against Matt's side, trying to somehow hide from view. 

"I'm sorry about that," Matt whispered when they were out of sight. 

"It's ok..." Tai said, even though he did not feel very ok at all. 

After lunch, Matt held his hand tightly on the way to the movie theater, Tai assumed to show everyone they were together, but he felt more like he was in kindergarten and being helped across the street. 

They bought their tickets to a comedy that was playing and were heading into theater four when an usher stopped Tai at the door. 

"Hey, kid, this movie is PG-13," he said, glaring down at him. 

"Yeah, and I'm fifteen!" Tai said haughtily. 

The usher rolled his eyes, "You're not allowed in without an adult if you're under thirteen..." He sighed. 

Tai's fists were clenched by now. 

"Uh, he's with me, sir!" Matt said, getting between the usher and Tai. The man was eye to eye with Matt. He looked him over for a few seconds and finally nodded his approval, accepting that the blonde was old enough. 

Tai was on the verge of exploding when they got to their seats, did he really look that young? Everyone had changed over the summer, but he had never expected Matt to. He figured they would always be even, never like this. Sora had passed him in height months ago and was blossoming into a woman already, Izzy had grown at least three inches, even his little sister had started wearing bras and make-up. But there he was, looking like a 12 year old next to his 'adult' boyfriend, and close to tears. 

He felt a hand on his thigh and a pair of lips touching his cheek. He turned to see Matt gazing at him worriedly. Tai's lower lip started to quiver when their eyes met and he finally started to cry just as the movie was beginning. Matt pulled him against his chest and rubbed his back as he sobbed. 

"Don't worry about everything that's happened today, it's not important," Matt said quietly. 

"But I look like a little kid next to you now," Tai choked, nuzzling against his boyfriend's shirt. 

"I don't care what you look like." He leaned Tai back and ran his finger down the side of his tan face. "You're beautiful..." 

"I'm stupid looking..." Tai said. 

"Shut up," he placed his hands on Tai's cheeks, "or I'm going to punch you." 

The brunette flung his arms around Matt and nearly made him topple into the next seat. The blue eyed boy held his little love close to him and kissed his neck delicately. Tai sat in his lap for the rest of the movie, leaning against his shoulder. Matt hoped that he would forget about his worries once school started the following week. Hoped... but doubted. 

The next morning, Tai rose groggily from Matt's bed and yawned. He walked into the kitchen, expecting to see the blonde preparing breakfast, but the room was empty. 

"Yami, where are you?" He called out. 

"In the bathroom!" He heard Matt yell. Tai walked back down the hall to the bathroom and peeked in the open door. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Shaving," he replied. His lips were twisted off to the side as he pulled a razor down the side of his face, scraping away shaving cream. Tai pouted watching him, imagining Matt's once baby soft face covered with hair. 

"The first time I tried I didn't have anybody to show me and I cut myself about 10 times," he laughed after rinsing his face off. He rubbed his cheeks to make sure they were perfectly smooth. 

"That's really weird..." Tai said, glaring at the razor Matt had left on the counter. 

"Everyone has to," Matt said. He wrapped his arms around Tai and kissed his forehead. "I'll show you how when you need to, don't worry." 

"I always imagined us learning stuff like that together," he mumbled sadly. 

"Tai, we're going to get our drivers licenses together, graduate together, go to college together, and get married," he looked fondly into Tai's eyes and hugged him tighter, "to each other, of course." Tai smiled. 

"Don't worry about a dumb thing like shaving." 

"I know it's dumb," the brunette said, "but everything is just all... crazy. I wasn't expecting it." 

"Neither was I," Matt said. "How do you think I feel? My hormones are going nuts." 

Tai raised his eyebrows and grinned widely. "Well, that's not so bad," he purred, sliding his hands down the back of Matt's pants. The taller boy felt a tight spot forming suddenly behind his zipper and bit his lip. 

"Why don't we skip breakfast for now..." He said. Tai nodded and was dragging him back into the bedroom in an instant. The blonde pounced and pinned Tai to the bed, attacking the smaller boy's neck with his lips and tongue. Tai squirmed as Matt bit his earlobe gently and laced his long fingers through Tai's fluffy hair. They kissed, locking lips and their tongues did not leave each other's mouths the entire time Matt was removing both of their pants. Matt arched his back so their groins were rubbing against each other. When Tai reached down to touch his boyfriend's arousal, though, his hand was greeted with something _much_ larger than it had been the last time they were together. 

"Yami!" He moaned, wriggling out from under the other boy. 

"What wrong now?" Matt asked, sitting up so his legs were folded under him, displaying everything in plain view. Tai's eyes nearly doubled in size. 

"Look at you! You're big enough to be a porn star!" 

Matt blushed deeply and covered himself up with a pillow. 

"I can't help it..." He said softly. 

"Well... try!" Tai sputtered, realizing this was totally impossible but said it anyway. 

"There's nothing I can do about it!" Matt shouted. "I'm sorry everything is so awkward, ok? You're blaming me more something I can't change...." 

"Sorry," Tai grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and pouting. "It's not fair...." 

Matt began giggling softly and when met by a glare from Tai, he laughed even harder. 

"What's so funny!" Tai squeaked. 

"You look so cute sitting there naked and pouting like a toddler," he said, smiling. 

Tai forgot about being angry very quickly and crawled over to Matt, kissing him on the tip of the nose. 

"We're not very good at being mad at each other, are we?" He said. 

Matt shook his head and gathered Tai up into his lap. 

"We never have been, we always get pissed off and fight and then make up about five seconds later." 

"Or make out," Tai added. 

"That too." 

They cuddled, the excitement from a few minutes ago gone, replaced by love and comfort. Matt rocked the brunette slowly and he rested his head on the musician's shoulder. 

"Once school starts, you won't have time to notice our differences," Matt said. 

"School and soccer," he responded. 

"Do you want breakfast now?" Matt asked, hoping Tai wouldn't start going on about soccer for hours while he had to sit and listen. 

"Yeah," he said, his love for food apparently winning out. "But I only want it if you make it in just your apron and nothing else," he continued, hopping out of Matt's lap and off the bed. 

"Whatever you want," Matt said, blushing slightly and getting up. Tai slipped his underwear back on and skipped out to the kitchen. 

"How come you get to wear something?" Matt asked when he had pulled his apron on and tied it in the back. 

"Because I said so," he answered, grabbing random things out of the refrigerator and heaping them on the counter. 

"What are you expecting me to make with all this...?" 

Tai pulled a bottle of sake out of the fridge and waved it back and forth with a ridiculous grin on his face. 

"Put my dad's booze away," Matt said, placing the bottle and other useless ingredients Tai had selected back in the fridge. "And get out of the kitchen before you hurt yourself." 

"You're so mean, Yami." Tai stepped back and hopped up onto the counter to watch Matt work his magic. 

"Your house is always so messy," he said, looking around while Matt cooked. 

"Tell me about it." 

"Why don't you clean it?" 

"Why don't _you_ clean it?" He said, glancing at Tai on the countertop. 

"It might end up worse than it is now," Tai giggled. 

Just then the front door opened and a tall brown haired man stepped in, dropping a suitcase on the floor and taking his shoes off. 

"Dad!" Matt said, turning so his rear end was against the counter, hoping his father wouldn't notice he had nothing on. 

"Uuuuhh, Hi Mr. Ishida," Tai said nervously, as he himself was only in his underwear. 

"Be thankful we don't have a dress code," he said, grabbing a can of soda out of the refrigerator for himself. 

"I thought you weren't going to be home until tomorrow," Matt stuttered, trying to cover himself up with his apron. 

"I caught an early flight," he said, taking a swig of soda and stepping over to his son, who he was now eye to eye with. "Your mother told me you'd grown, but I didn't realize how much." 

"Yeah..." 

"Well, I'm going to go catch a quick nap, I'm exhausted," he said, striding out of the kitchen. "And put some pants on." 

Matt sighed with relief when he heard his father's bedroom door close. 

"Your dad doesn't let much bother him, does he?" Tai asked, getting down off the counter. 

"He's too busy being bothered with work," Matt said. "And could you go grab me a pair of boxers?" 

Tai wrapped his arms around Matt's waist and pinched his butt instead. 

"You look fine just the way you are," he said, winking. 

Matt just groaned and rolled his eyes, and turned around to finish breakfast. Tai ate his food quickly and happily when it was done, as usual. The blue eyed boy watched and thought thankfully that his boyfriend was not easily depressed. 

As the week progressed, Tai became more accustomed to the change between them. On Sunday night, they both fell asleep, sadly, in their separate apartments and anticipated the new day of school that would follow. Unfortunately, though, an unwelcome surprise awaited Tai the next morning. 


	2. Two

"I'm going to go leap in front of a bus..." Tai mumbled as he and Matt stood in the doorway of their high school building on the first day. Looking around, nearly all of his classmates had passed him in height, even many of the girls were taller than him now. Prepubescent students were apparently in the minority. 

"Tai, it's not that bad!" The blonde said, walking after him as they found their new lockers. Tai then began slamming his head against his when he had found the right one. 

"Cut it out..." Matt said, turning the dial on the lock three lockers down and throwing his extra books inside when he had opened it. "Why are you so hung up over this?" 

"Because I'm a midget..." Tai groaned, continually hitting his head against the metal. 

"You're just a late bloomer." 

"I'm a freak..." 

"Shut up." 

"No..." 

"You're going to dent the locker." 

Tai glared up at him with a disgruntled look plastered across his face. 

"What about my head!?" He yelled. 

"It's harder than the locker," Matt said. 

"You don't care because you're tall and handsome and I'm not!" He cried, nearly throwing a temper tantrum and banging his fists against the locker. Matt sighed, Tai hardly ever took anything this seriously. 

"It's really bothering him... Poor angel," Matt thought. He bent over then, grabbing Tai around the waist and hoisting him up over his shoulder. 

"Yami, put me down!" He screamed, kicking his legs. 

"We're going to be late," Matt said, holding his head high and ignoring the strange looks from their peers as he carried Tai down the hallway. 

"I'm sorry I acted so stupid this morning..." Tai said later. After they had participated in the entrance ceremonies for new students, they had the last few hours of school to enjoy doing whatever they wanted. Many students were outside the gymnasium playing sports, and a lot of the girls were chatting with friends, catching up on summer events. The pair had decided to keep to themselves though, and were lying in the grass under the shade of a sakura tree. Matt leaned against the trunk with Tai's head in his lap, and stroked his hair while they talked. 

"Tai-chan... I don't want to sound uncaring, but you're making this out to be a lot worse than it is," he said. 

"You don't understand," he mumbled. "You've always been prettier than me or taller than me or whatever, and now that's all doubled by about 8 million." 

"That made no sense," Matt said, smiling. 

"I don't care, I just feel like even more of a doofus than I always have." 

"You're not though," he said, tickling the back of Tai's ear and feeling him twitch slightly. "You're a great athlete, and you're outgoing and friendly, I can't think of anyone who doesn't like you." 

"But I'm only good at soccer, never anything else...." 

"You're good at making me happy." Tai sat up and looked into Matt's eyes when he said this. "Not very many people are good at that." 

The brunette flung his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders and hugged him tightly. 

"Why do you always say meaningful things when I say stupid things," he sighed. Matt decided not to answer, he just continued stroking Tai's soft hair and held him, letting the closeness of the moment do all the talking. 

"It almost makes me feel ashamed for growing up," Matt said to Sora a few days later. They sat in the school newspaper room, Sora editing an article and Matt searching online for resources to use in his next music review. 

"You shouldn't," she said, "but, I do too in a way. Tai's always been such a strong leader, he doesn't feel like he's good enough if he's smaller than the rest of us." 

"Mm..." Matt sighed and continued clicking through different web pages while Sora scribbled red marks and corrections on the papers in front of her. Tai was in gym class at the moment. The teasing from his soccer team mates he had suffered during the first few days of school had ceased, mostly due to the presence of a wrathful blonde boyfriend waiting outside the locker room each day. 

"I wish there was something I could do besides just be there for him," he remarked. 

"I think I have an idea..." Sora said suddenly. 

"What is it?" He looked up from his computer screen at her. 

"There's a special issue of the paper coming out before our first break," she stood and gathered up the articles she had been working on, "but I'll have to tell the other girls in the Spirit Club about it." 

"Wait, what about the Spirit Club?" 

"See you later!" She said, winking and hurrying out the door to deliver the edited papers to their supervisor. 

"Sora, wait!" 

"And then he's like, 'Lucky you aren't goalie, Yagami, or you'd never reach the ball', so I punched him in the face!" Tai shouted through a mouthful of food. He swallowed, then finished his retelling of the previous day. "So that's why I'm suspended from the next game." 

"Sometimes you're a little to quick to jump to action," Matt said, taking a sip of soda and smirking. 

"Well I'm sick of those guys teasing me! It's been three weeks, you think they would have gotten over it by now," he grumbled. 

School was well underway by now and the soccer season was in full swing. Unfortunately, some of the teasing from the first few days of school still survived in the less agreeable members of the team. 

"Do you have to sit out on the bench?" 

"Yeah..." The brunette shoved the rest of his lunch into his mouth in one huge bite and downed it angrily. 

"I'll see if I can sneak down and keep you company, I'll say I'm doing a report for the paper or something." 

"But you do the music section..." 

"I got reassigned," he said, winking. 

"Yami, why are people so dumb?" Tai sighed, once he had finished chewing the remains of his food. 

"I think it's in their nature," the blonde replied, gathering up the mess on their table and tossing it in a garbage two tables away. He slid into the booth next to Tai and sat down. 

"If it's not guys teasing me it's girls telling me how cute I look." 

"Well, you _are_ cute." Matt grinned widely and licked the tip of Tai's earlobe. He squeaked and covered his ears. 

"Yami! You know that makes me crazy!" He scolded. 

"I know..." The taller boy purred and pulled Tai's hands away, licking his ear again. Instead of jerking away he moaned softly this time, his eyes half closed contentedly while Matt went to work nibbling on his ear. 

"May we interrupt this make out session?" A voice said. The pair looked up to see their own younger siblings smiling down at them. 

"Wonderful timing, TK," Matt said, glaring playfully at his brother. TK and Kari sat down in the seat opposite Matt and Tai and set their trays of food on the table. 

"Now I have to go to the bathroom..." Tai mumbled. 

"Did I get you a bit worked up?" The blonde poked him in the side making Tai groan, before letting him up to go to the bathroom. 

Kari giggled as he walked away towards the back of the diner. 

"I don't think he's looked in a mirror since school started," she said. 

"He doesn't even realize, does he?" TK asked. 

Matt shook his head and smiled fondly. "Maybe it's not a big enough change for him to notice yet, even if everyone else does." 

"He'll figure it out eventually," Kari said, popping a french fry into her mouth. "My bigger big brother!" 

Tai's complaints of inferiority came less frequently as the weeks progressed. Mostly because he was too busy with school and sports to let it bother him as much. But this busy lifestyle also kept him from noticing the change that he himself was undergoing. He was growing in leaps and bounds without even realizing it. For Matt though, it was a welcome transformation, he was finally catching up. Each time he held his boyfriend in his arms he seemed more muscular and well formed. The handsome young man his little Taichi was developing into was truly astonishing. 

One day while Matt and Tai were sitting on the front steps of the school studying during a free period, some girls from the Spirit Club walked up to them. 

"Do you mind if we take a picture of the two of you together?" One said, holding up a digital camera. 

"What for?" Matt asked. 

They looked at each other and giggled a little. 

"You'll find out next week," the girl with the camera said. 

"It's not anything bad, is it?" Tai said suspiciously. 

"Of course not!" another said. "You can just ask Sora Takenouchi about it." 

"Sora, huh..." Matt remembered the day nearly two months earlier when Sora told him she was planning something having to do with the Spirit Club. After recalling this, they agreed to have their picture taken. 

"Ok, now do something cute, hug each other or something," the girl with the camera said. 

"Pick him up, Yamato!" A girl with pigtails suggested. After about 15 minutes of posing in different positions, the camera girl _finally_ snapped a photo. Matt was down on one knee with Tai sitting on the other while kissing him on the cheek. 

"That's perfect!" The camera girl said when the group of them looked at the picture on the LCD screen. 

"So, when are we gonna find out what this is for?" Tai asked. 

"Next Friday," she said, "the day before break." 

"Thank you!" Said another. 

"See you later!" The five girls departed and went back into the school, whispering and giggling the entire way. 

"I hope Sora isn't planning something embarrassing..." Tai said, sitting back on the steps. 

"I doubt it." Matt picked up the notes they had been looking over to begin studying again just as the bell rang for the end of the period. 

"So much for our history test," Tai groaned, packing up his things. 

"My knees and elbows have been hurting..." Tai moaned, "and I fell during soccer practice because I got a random pain in my leg." 

"Growing pains," Matt said, smiling. 

"Wasn't that a show?" 

Tai flopped down on his bed where Matt was sitting and the blonde kissed his boyfriend on the nose, loving how he could be so oblivious to things, even changes in his own body. He supposed it was easier to see changes in the world around you than to see a gradual change in yourself. 

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" Matt asked. 

"Banged my shin up," he answered, lifting his pant leg up to show Matt a large purple bruise. 

"Ouch..." He bent down and kissed Tai's leg very delicately and wrapped his arms around him. They stared at each other with their feet hanging off the edge of the bed for a long time. Matt was nearly in awe, the brunette seemed to be growing more gorgeous by the day. His eyes were still large and innocent, like milky pools of chocolate, but the roundness of his face had been replaced by the epitome of a handsome man. His skin had somehow avoided the horrors of acne in these early teen years, and was flawless and tan. The color was even darker than usual from being in the sun playing soccer nearly every afternoon. Matt brushed his shaggy but silky hair out of his eyes and the whole picture together formed the most perfect face he could have imagined. 

"Beautiful..." He whispered. 

"Huh?" Tai looked at Matt with a puzzled expression. He was silenced by a deep kiss before saying anything else, though. The musician's tongue plunged into his mouth and he accepted happily, rolling onto his back and allowing Matt to climb on top of him. Each flicker of Matt's tongue received a sensual moan in return. 

He stopped to look down at Tai's face, which was flushed red from excitement. He panted heavily and reached up to wrap his arms around Matt. 

"Why are you such a good kisser," he said breathlessly. The blonde simply kissed him again as a thank you for the compliment. He felt his zipper going down then as Matt reached into his pants and started stroking him. Matt wrapped his hand tightly around his boyfriend's manhood and he gasped and squirmed underneath him. 

"He really has grown..." Matt thought. 

Tai was very glad he had locked his door and thought his groin was about to explode as Matt pleasured him and began nibbling his ear and sucking at his neck. 

"Y-yami...." He squeaked. His whole body was shaking mildly and he could not force himself to breathe in anything but random gasps. Matt nuzzled his neck lightly before kissing him again. He could not think of anything more enjoyable than kissing Tai, he loved the taste, the feel. He was sure his boyfriend must have the sweetest, softest lips that there were, and felt privileged knowing he was the only one who would ever have them against his own. 

Tai cried out suddenly and Matt felt his hand covered with a warm liquid. 

"Sorry, Yami..." The brunette whispered, still panting heavily. 

"It's fine," he said, smiling with a great sense of accomplishment. Tai always climaxed so quickly, truly adorable in Matt's mind. The smaller boy clung to Matt tightly until he stopped shaking and his body relaxed again. 

"I love you, Yami." 

"I love you, Tai-chan." 

They kissed once again for what seemed like an eternity, neither wanted to stop. Matt got up from the bed when they had broken their kiss to clean his hand off with a tissue, licking a bit off his fingertips first. Tai did not notice though, as he was still recovering from the explosion a few minutes before. 

"More salty than sweet," Matt said, hopping back onto the back and poking Tai in the tummy. 

"Huh?" A common word in Tai's vocabulary. 

Matt laughed softly and laid back down next to him. 

"Nothing... nothing at all." 

"Hey!" Tai exclaimed. "Tomorrow is Friday, we finally get to find out what Sora's big secret is." 

"I really hope she didn't lose her mind and decide to embarrass us in front of the whole school." Matt sighed, slipping his hand under Tai's body to pinch his booty. 

"Eep! Yami!" The brunette nearly leapt off the bed. 

Matt smiled widely and crawled on top of Tai once again. 

"You are so cute, I could eat you..." He whispered devilishly. 

"But if you eat me now, I'll never find out what the surprise is," he said. 

"Ok, I'll wait until Saturday to devour you." 

Tai then jabbed the boy on top of him in his ticklish spot, making him topple off the side of the bed. 

"You're such a brat!" Matt yelled, diving back on top of him and biting his ear. Much playing and passion followed, and both boys got very little sleep that night. 

"Vacation, finally," Tai groaned, hoisting his book bag over his shoulder at the end of the next day, thankful he had not gotten much homework over break. 

A hot tongue suddenly caressed the back of his ear and he spun around to see Matt smiling behind him. 

"You almost gave me a heart attack," he teased, leaning forward into his boyfriend's chest, as Matt wrapped his arms tightly around his body. 

"Your mom said you could spend the weekend, right?" The blonde asked while they hugged and rocked slowly back and forth on the spot. 

"Of course, I practically live at your place anyway," he said. 

"My dad's leaving to do a special news report in Kyoto tomorrow," Matt told him. "He won't be back until Tuesday." 

"I love your dad," Tai said, practically melted into Matt by now. 

"Love my dad or the fact that he's away so much?" 

"Both." 

Matt chuckled and they clasped hands, walking towards the exit of the school together. 

"Hey... I thought we were going to find out Sora's big surprise today," Tai said. 

"Yeah, but I've barely seen her all day," Matt responded, glancing around the halls, trying to catch a glimpse of their orange haired friend. 

"Don't forget your paper!" 

"Special vacation issue!" 

Voices sounded from the front steps of the school. Several members of the newspaper staff were stationed there, handing out papers to students as they exited and headed home. 

"Don't forget a paper, you two," said a sophomore girl as Matt and Tai passed by. She giggled and nearly shoved the newspaper into Matt's hand. 

"Uh, thanks..." he said. 

"What's so special about this issue anyway?" Tai asked as they walked down the stairs. Matt skimmed over the front page. 

"Special Freshmen Superlatives Issue," the blonde said, reading the largest text on the page. 

"What's a superlative?" 

"Um, it's the best of stuff, like best eyes and all that," Matt answered, thumbing through the pages with Tai peeking over his shoulder. 

"Yamato, Taichi!" They heard someone yell. Running towards them was the president of the Spirit Club, the girl who had taken their picture the previous week. 

"So, did you find it yet?" She asked, seeing that they had a newspaper in their possession. 

"Find what?" Matt asked, Tai just blinked confusedly at the girl. 

"Turn to page seven!" She instructed excitedly. 

Matt flipped the pages close to the end of the small booklet and opened it up. 

"Cutest Freshman Couple: Yamato Ishida and Taichi Yagami," he read. There in the center of page seven was the picture that had been taken on the front steps of the school, Tai sitting on Matt's knee, planting a kiss on his cheek. 

"Surprise!" The two boys looked up to see Sora walking over to them, a bundle of newspapers in her arms. She smiled widely, glancing down at the picture. 

"So this is the surprise, huh?" Matt asked, grinning. 

"When you're editor you have a little extra influence," she said, winking. "Not that it's a lie, you two really are the cutest couple!" 

The Spirit Club president nodded in agreement. "Everyone thinks you two are adorable together, especially the girls." She chuckled. 

"Yami..." Tai mumbled. 

"What's the matter?" Matt turned a bit so Tai was facing him instead of looking over his shoulder. 

"I look weird in this picture," the brunette said, staring hard at the paper in Matt's hands. 

Matt and Sora's eyes met, apparently Tai had noticed the not-so-childish version of himself featured in the photograph. 

"Tai, stand up straight," Matt said. 

"What, why?" Tai asked. 

"Just do it." 

Tai stood up perfectly straight and held his arms at his side. Matt stepped up to his boyfriend until they were chest to chest, and looked him directly in the eyes. 

"Notice anything?" The musician asked. Sora stifled a laugh when Tai cocked his head to the side, examining Matt's face carefully. 

"No..." He said slowly. "Did you brush your hair different today or something?" 

"Tai!" Sora shouted, giggling and stepping up beside them. "Look straight forward." Tai did as he was told. "Now, what do you see?" she asked. 

"Matt's nose..." 

"And think back, what did you see there a few months ago?" 

"Matt's neck-HEY!" Tai's eyes widened suddenly and he ran off back into the school. 

"Hey, where are you going!" Matt yelled. 

Matt, Sora, and a slightly puzzled Spirit Club president ran off after the soccer player just as he was dashing into the girls bathroom. Three girls ran immediately out after a few squeals from within. 

"You can't go in there!" The spirit club president yelled. Matt and Sora followed Tai inside quickly, and found him staring into the full body mirror beside the row of sinks. Matt stepped up behind his boyfriend, who was nearly matching his own height in their reflection. 

"I haven't even bothered to take a good look at myself lately..." He said. 

"Do you like what you see?" Matt asked coyly. 

"Yes!" He cried, leaping up into Matt's arms and hugging him wildly. The two would have most likely toppled to the ground if Sora had not been there to balance them. The musician held him with enormous pride and satisfaction that his love had finally realized the beautiful change he had been undergoing. 

"Yami, this is so cool!" He said into the shoulder of Matt's blazer. Matt squeezed him tighter and the romantic moment would have continued if it had not been for an angry 'ehem' from the door. They turned to see the principal of the school leaning in the entryway, glaring at them, half annoyed, half amused. 

"Would you mind getting out of the ladies restroom now?" She asked. 

Matt set Tai back down on the floor and they both blushed. 

"Sorry!" They replied in unison, and hurried out the door, leaving Sora behind, smiling happily. 

"Nn... I can't believe... I didn't notice..." 

"Mm... shut up..." 

Matt's tongue snaked into the brunette's mouth, silencing him. He had talked almost nonstop on their way home, and continued to do so as they made their way to Matt's bedroom and began undressing. Even when Matt's hands and lips were dancing their way across his body, he still continued babbling about the realization he had made that afternoon. 

"But Yami..." He panted when their lips had parted. 

Matt sighed and shook his head, but stayed smiling nonetheless. He slid his arms around the well toned tan body beneath him and touched the smooth skin lightly with his fingertips. 

"I'm so happy," Tai said, nuzzling against the blonde's cheek, his hand resting on the pale skin of Matt's back. 

"Me too, I don't have to listen to you whine anymore!" Matt teased. 

"Yami!" 

"Really though... you're so handsome. All I have to do is look at you and I get turned on," he said. 

"Oh, so I wasn't handsome before?" Tai said with mock offense. 

"Of course you were." The lids over Matt's blue eyes lowered, and he gazed longingly at the gorgeous face beside him. "But now..." 

They kissed once more, tasting each other with fevered pace, their bodies touching almost everywhere. The two held each other almost as close as they felt emotionally at that moment, but of course no physical closeness could reach an intensity such as that. Matt breathed against the boy below him, licking and toying with his ear. So perfect, so flawless, Tai was the most beautiful creature on earth in his eyes, more now than ever before. 

"I love you," he whispered. 

"I love you, Yami." 

The blonde leaned up on his elbows a bit to stare down into Tai's lovely brown eyes. One of the brunette's slender fingers ran up and down his spine, making goose bumps form all over his body. 

"So what are we two grown men going to do alone all weekend?" Tai said. 

"Heh, not quite full grown," Matt replied. He brushed Tai's bangs off his forehead, wondering how long these pubescent years would last, but not really caring, they had each other. 

"Soon though," Tai sighed contentedly. "And I don't mind, now that I've finally caught up to you." 

"I told you that you would." 

He smiled and kissed Matt again, softly, tenderly. 

"You don't have to worry, either way," Matt said. "There's nothing we can't face as long as we're together, it's always been that way. There'll be a lot of hard times ahead now that we're getting older, but I want to go through all of them with you." 

They snuggled close now, relaxed and completely happy, every problem in the world was gone. Yamato and Taichi, lovers, but still rivals in a way, were finally even again, and everything was perfect as far as they were concerned. Matt draped his arm across Tai's chest, and the brunette gazed fondly at his boyfriend. 

"We'll be fine," he said, "We're just in-between." 

_~~Owari~~_


End file.
